Judge to settle impasse in New Jersey water emergency

Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Residents of Newark, N.J., are waiting to learn whether a judge will order the city to hand out bottles of water in response to lead contamination in the public supply, as well as some filters that were given out that don't work.

The judge heard arguments last week but has not made a decision. He was set to return to court Monday morning.

The Newark Education Workers Caucus and Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit this month accusing Newark of violating federal water laws. The lead isn't coming from the source water but from failed water treatment at the Pequannock treatment center, it argues.

Advocates want door-to-door bottle delivery in east Newark, which isn't served by the treatment plant believed to be the source of the contamination. City officials argue it would be too expensive to distribute water bottles to all pregnant women and children 6 or younger. An estimated 14,000 homes will have to continue relying on bottled water for at least another month, Mayor Ras Baraka said Sunday. The city distributed 70,000 cases of bottled water last week.